Depicting a sort of retro-futuristic near-Earth where aimless teen Shirotsugh Lhadatt finds himself in his nation’s skeletal, ramshackle space programme, the film follows his training across years, as the spectre of war grows in the background. A bored, reluctant idealist, Lhdatt falls in love, first with the deeply religious Riquinni Nonderaik, and then with the dream of being the first man in space.

A coming of age tale of idealism versus cynicism, war, celebrity and hardship, the movie seems frustratingly out of print in DVD and Blu-ray but the message at its heart is one that’ll resonate with anyone who has ever stared at the stars in wonder.